Monday, 23 February 2015

The second day started with the Trojan Horse Protest outside the European Commission. This protest was organised in cooperation with Friends of the Earth Europe, who made this video of the event. The speakers explain why TTIP is considered to be a Trojan Horse, and why we should protest against it.

After the protest, we all walked (yes, including me!) from the European Commission to the European Parliament, to meet with our Green MEPs.

Our Green MEPs are Jean Lambert, Keith Taylor and Molly Scott Cato. Here they are at a discussion chaired by a member of the German Greens. They were also joined by Plaid Cymru MEP Jill Evans, who sits in the European Parliament as a Green. (I could hardly believe that I was really in Brussels, attending a meeting at the European Parliament. And they provided us with lunch!)

The Green Group has consistently opposed TTIP from its inception, as have the Left groups, but apparently not the Social Democrats. The discussion involved pointing out that there is much more to TTIP than a trade treaty, it is not merely about 'goods crossing borders'. As we had already learnt, it is more about lowering standards of environmental protection so as to increase the profits of multi-national organisations, There was more discussion on ISDS, to which we had been introduced on the previous day, and we were reminded of the fact that corporations can sue governments, but not the reverse. The introduction of TTIP would mean multinational corporations making the laws, not governments, The measure of the special tribunal would be whether INVESTMENTS had been damaged.

Keith Taylor pointed out that bilateral trade agreements are only about money (profits), and wider social and environmental issues are routinely ignored. Molly Scott Cato also spoke on the theme of finance, pointing our that a 'trade' treaty is really a corporate power treaty, enabling corporations to move finance, not goods.The banks are still not properly regulated, but TTIP asks for reductions on regulation.Jean Lambert reinforced the theme that had already been discussed, that implementation of TTIP would pose a threat to the UK National Health Service and to public services in general (throughout the EU).Jill Evans spoke on the threat to food safety standards, and the question of food labelling, Apparently there is very little food labelling in the US, and the treaty would require a reduction in the standards of safety and explicitness in food labelling in the EU. It is a very political issue! We then moved on to a discussion with Labour MEPs, led by David Martin, a Scottish MEP. The Labour group are less committed in their opposition to TTIP than the Green group, perhaps more prepared to give it consideration under certain circumstances, David Martin said that he did believe in 'free trade if possible, but only if it's fair'. He said that there could perhaps be a 'good' TTIP, which would be good for jobs and good for growth, but it would have to enshrine labour rights in law. He claimed that the discussions have not reached the point where it's possible to be for or against TTIP since it is still 'a blank sheet of paper'. He then told a heckler, 'If you're not here to listen, just piss off', which some of us thought was quite funny, but he then had to apologise. The hecklers were quite annoying......how often does anyone get the chance to go to the European Parliament and discuss serious issues? That was the final meeting, and then we returned to London, with a lot to think about, and with the intention of continuing the campaign.I'll just finish with something that is not connected with the campaign, but I found rather amusing,....at one point a woman came up to me and asked where I was was from. I said, 'London - Green Left', and she said....'Oh...you're not from Shetland, then?' This is why!!

This was what I was wearing......I did indeed knit it for Shetland Wool Week, interesting that someone in Brussels recognised the design!!